Yellowknife (Aug 02/06) - The window of opportunity is open for public works projects around Yellowknife, but contractors never know when that window can slam shut.

With ideal weather conditions only lasting for a short time and several projects planned again this year, construction contractors have been busy.

Road work: Bourque Drive and Larocque Drive, asphalt, curbs and sidewalks; Paving School Draw Avenue from the Franklin Avenue intersection to Rotary Park; Road reconstruction on Franklin Avenue 49th Avenue to 52nd Avenue; Road reconstruction on 51st Avenue between 46th and 47th streets; Paving alley behind Anderson Thompson Tower; Paving sidewalk to Co-op along Frame Lake side of Old Airport Road; and, Paving Mitchell Drive on Latham Island. Water and sewer: Burwash Drive in the area of Rycon Drive and Con Road; and, A block downtown bordered by 51st and 52nd Streets and 51st and 52nd Avenues.

NWT Construction was awarded the City of Yellowknife's road reconstruction contract and has been working since the middle of June, said manager William Zatkovich.

"It's going reasonably well," he said. The company is responsible for seven paving jobs around the city and currently has 40 employees on staff.

This week, the company will begin paving Franklin Avenue from 51st to 52nd streets, which requires some logistical planning said Zatkovich.

"Staff will probably be working seven to seven, every day of the week," he said. We want to try and minimize the time we're on the main street."

While the road work may be a burden to regular drivers and businesses, Zatkovich said that the company is doing the work as quickly as possible. "People will have to have a little patience," he said.

Road crews with the company have had to battle high temperatures in the past few weeks, but that's a part of the job said employee Darrell Gibson. "We've been going pretty hard core seven days a week," he said. "We're trying to get Franklin Avenue done as fast as possible."

The city's paving and road reconstruction program will roughly run to about $3 million.

The water and sewer replacement program will range from $2.5 million to $3.2 million, said Dennis Kefalas, manager of Public Works with the City of Yellowknife.

"We're trying to ensure we replace worn infrastructure before it poses a problem." he said.

Of the two main water and sewer contracts awarded, NWT Construction got one and RTL Robinson Enterprises got the other.

Both the water and sewer program and the road construction program are scheduled to run until Sept. 15, said Kefalas.